Rural campaigners angered at Virgin Media's new broadband plans

Virgin Media's latest £3 billion broadband proposal is not sitting well with rural campaigners, shocked to see rural development is completely off the investment list for Virgin Media's parent company Liberty Global.

It follows a big surge in the number of UK rural residents unhappy with the broadband and mobile quality, pushing Ofcom and the UK government to look for more investment.

Virgin Media claimed the divide between rural and urban is too risky to invest in, considering it might not make its money back on investment.

This is disappointing for the rural businesses that wanted to take advantage of Virgin Media's fiber optic service - the fastest in the UK - with 150Mbps download speeds in most cities.

BT Group has already invested £1.7 billion into rural development, meaning Virgin Media could swoop in on the same lines once the infrastructure is set up and offer competition.

It might be some time before the rural countryside has speeds above 50Mbps, Virgin Media's most popular broadband option. BT is planning a slow rollout for the first few years, stuck on speeds under 20Mbps.

UK carriers signed a deal with Ofcom to bring wireless data to 98 per cent of the UK by 2017, in a new deal which will open up new airwaves. Vodafone, O2, EE and Three UK all signed the deal, investing part of their money into more rural development.